An informal group of singers and instrumentalists that share the joy of folk songs. Music is created by guitars, banjos, percussion and harmonicas. The group practices together prior to public performances at ERUUF (services, Cafe ERUUF) and elsewhere. Contact Kristi Chilton.

ERBC is a Buddhist practice group that meets to meditate, to deepen our understanding of the Buddha's teachings, and to support one another in cultivating the path of practice. Newcomers and visitors are always welcome. Contact: Steve Seiberling.

We are gathering to strengthen our community ties to one another and remind ourselves, our policy makers and larger community that we share a common story - searching for a better life in a new land.

Many of our forebears migrated to America, braving oceans and deserts, to join family members in seeking freedom on these shores. As Americans, we continue to welcome and celebrate refugees and immigrants.

Light desserts will be provided (you are welcome to bring a dessert to share, though not required!)

We meet 3rd Tuesdays except in December to talk about books that usually do not have a religious or self-help theme. All are welcome. Dessert, coffee and juice provided. For information contact Victoria Zula: bookclub [AT] eruuf [DOT] orgbookclub [AT] eruuf [DOT] org

Book for this month:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Presenter: (to be determined)

"A novel that brilliantly illuminates some of the darker interconnections between politics and sex . . . Just as the world of Orwell's 1984 gripped our imaginations, so will the world of Atwood's handmaid!" --Washington Post Book World

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren (Durham Public Library has 8 copies; Chapel Hill Public Library has 4 copies. Note: Earth Day 2018 is April 22.)

Acclaimed scientist Hope Jahren has built three laboratories in which she’s studied trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more. Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.GoodReads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25733983-lab-girl?from_search=true

May 20, 2018

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan DPL 3 copies

It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm - a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not - charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion. The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale.

A Gentleman in Moscowby Amor Towles (Goodreads Author) 18 copies Durham Public Library There is a long wait list for this book. You will want to get in the queue.

4.37 Goodreads ScoreA Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

In 1867, Mark Twain and a group fellow-Americans toured Europe and the Holy Land, aboard a retired Civil War ship known as “Quaker City.” Throughout the journey, Twain kept a written record of his experiences. “The Innocents Abroad” is both a travelogue and a critique of clashing cultures—but more importantly, it is an entertaining and insightful work written by one of the great masters of American prose.

Betsy Barton from Transitions Life Care will be our guest speaker. She will talk about Advance Directives, practical tips on selecting a healthcare power of attorney and making your wishes known to your loved ones regarding your future medical care. Bring a lunch and join in the conversation. Popcorn provided. Please register below to help us plan set up and materials for each session, or drop by as you can. Contact: Rev. Stacy Grove, sgrove [AT] eruuf [DOT] org.